Back in October 2021, the UK government introduced new legislation called the “UK Government’s Road to Zero Strategy” that set out their aim for all new cars and vans to be effectively zero emission by 2030. As part of these electric vehicle charging regulations uk, they announced that all new buildings – both residential and commercial – would have to be fitted with an electric vehicle charge point from 15th June 2022. Why was this legislation introduced? As the popularity of electric vehicles increases, with them now accounting for 1 in 10 of all new car sales, and the UK government’s recent ban on the sale of new diesel and petrol cars by 2030, there is a growing need for more support to be given to help people make the transition to electric vehicles more easily with effective electric vehicle charging point installation at home (or commercial premises). Not only do homes and businesses need to be EV (electric vehicle) ready but electric vehicle chargers need to be smart too. This legislation was therefore introduced alongside the government’s recently published regulations on smart charging which were published earlier this year (2022). This calls for electric car chargers to have several smart functions installed to relieve the pressure on the national grid and to make them future-proof as well. Overview of the building regulations for electric charging points Builders should know that: All new residential buildings with a parking space now need to also have an electric vehicle charging point installed. All new non-residential buildings with more than 10 parking spaces need to have at least one electric vehicle charging point, and cable routes for every one in five parking spaces Existing non-residential buildings with more than 20 parking spaces will need at least one electric car charge point from 2025 Do the UK electric car charging points regulations affect homeowners? Only if you are thinking of moving house as if you buy a new house, it should already have an electric vehicle charger installed. If you are thinking of swapping to an electric vehicle or are starting to run an electric vehicle commercial fleet, then you may be thinking about electric vehicle charging stations near me. However, it may be wiser to think about installing electric vehicle charge points for your home or workplace – and D-ENERGi can help with that. Contact our EV charging points team on 0800 781 7626 for more information.

A lot of people have been put off buying an electric car because the charging aspect is very different from just filling your car up with diesel or petrol. We take a look at how long electric vehicle charging takes, and how long the charge will last. How long does it take to charge an electric car? The amount of time it will take to charge an electric car will depend on two things: Battery size – the bigger the battery the longer it will take to charge Amount of power the charger can deliver It can take anywhere between 30 minutes and 12 hours to charge an electric vehicle, but it usually takes around 8 hours on average. How are electric cars charged? Electric cars are charged by being plugged into a power outlet – either at your home or at a car park or service station. If you are going on a long drive, it is advised that you stop at a service station along the way and charge your car. The advantage of charging your car at an electric vehicle charging station rather than at home is that the service station will usually have commercial chargers that will charge your vehicle much faster. It has been said that the most efficient way to charge your car is in small bursts throughout the day, and then leave it plugged in overnight when you get home. Can I charge my electric car at home? Yes. You can have an electric vehicle charging point installed at home so that you can easily charge your vehicle when you are not using it. D-ENERGI also offers an electric vehicle charging station solution for workplaces, offering employers a free no-obligation site survey. How much will it cost to charge an electric car? It is quite easy to work out how much it will cost to charge your electric car by doing a few simple calculations. You need to know the kWh of the charging point and then multiply this by the cost of your electricity. To find the kWh of your charging point, you will need to check the power of your charger. Most home chargers are 3.7w but it is best to check yours just to make sure. You then need to convert this power into watts by multiplying it by 1000. So, a standard electric vehicle home charger is 3.7kwh x 1000 = 3700 watts Then think about how long you will be charging your electric vehicle. If we go with the standard of 8 hours, then we need to multiply 3700 watts by 8 hours = 29600 watts. We then divide this by 1000 to convert it back to kWh, which brings us to 29.6 kWh. Now that we know the kWh it will take us to charge our electric vehicle, we can work out how much this will cost us by multiplying the kWh by the cost of electricity. The average cost of electricity is 0.13p at the moment, so we multiply 0.13 by 29.6 = £3.80 a day. To find out more about how D-ENERGi can help you with electric vehicle charging points for domestic or commercial use, please get in touch.

The price of energy is a hot topic at the moment, as we are all facing hikes in our energy bills due to the energy price cap being raised on April 1st. This is especially important for businesses to be aware of as saving energy could have a huge impact on the amount of profit, they make this year. With this in mind, here are eight simple ways to save money on business electricity this year: #1 Unplug all chargers when not in use Phone and laptop chargers still consume a small amount of energy, even when they are not plugged into the devices concerned. In fact, some people call them “vampire appliances” due to the fact that they continue to suck energy even when not in use. So, make sure all of your employees unplug chargers when they are not in use. #2 Switch off all devices (when not in use) In a similar vein to the above, if you don’t power down and switch off electrical devices when they are not in use, you could be adding hundreds if not thousands to your business electricity bill. A standard desktop computer uses about 0.1 kWh energy when it is on standby, which is about 1.4p. Not a lot, you may think, but when you times it by 100 computers used 5 days a week for 52 weeks a year, it amounts to £728 extra on your electricity bill, which you don’t actually need to pay! #3 Ask employees not to use screensavers Most people don’t realise this, but screensavers are far less energy efficient than actually applying proper powers settings. #4 Turn the heating down This is usually the first thing business owners do when they are trying to save money on business energy because even just turning the heating down by 1 degree can have a hugely positive effect on your energy bill. #5 Make sure you are on the right tariff Lots of business owners don’t realise that they are actually paying more for their business energy than they need to as they are on the wrong tariff. Let D-ENERGI compare business energy per kWh for you to make sure you are not spending way more than you should. #6 Install motion-sensitive lighting We all know that switching off the lights when we leave a room can save money, but many of us just forget to do that. If you install motion-sensitive lighting in areas such as corridors and toilets, you remove the human element from this action altogether and save money in the long run. #7 Fix dripping taps immediately All dripping taps and leaks should be instantly fixed, as the cost of repairing them will be far less than the hike in your water bill should you leave them unfixed. #8 Encourage your employees to be get involved The best way to save energy in your workplace is to get your employees involved to help you along. You could even nominate an energy efficiency champion to take charge and encourage other people to get involved as well. Compare business electricity per kWh with D-ENERGI to find the most competitive prices and rates in the UK.